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well-thought out, inspiring, food for thought. A lot of these essays were written in the 80s, but their content is still relevant (sadly) today. They are worth ingesting slowly. Let Berry challenge your thinking or solidify it if you find you already agree with him. 
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In the first half, we have the farmer of letters as literary critic, celebrating the values of honesty and community found in famous and not-so-famous works of literature. In the second, Berry throws it down in a scathing look at industrial society, especially its effects on rural communities. Don't pass him off as a curmudgeon though. Why, even MIT inventors are now praising the superior virtues of simple technologies produced before the industrial revolution came around:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/05/17/100517fa_fact_owen
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I was recently introduced to Wendell Berry by my son-in-law, who has read several of his books. I borrowed this collection of essays from him and am blown away by the excellent writing and thinking that are expressed in "What are People for? Essays". Mr. Berry is one of the best authors I've ever read, and his wisdom and carefully reasoned thoughts are in the high league of C.S. Lewis and others. While one may not agree with all his positions or conclusions, the wisdom, thought, and reason expressed are superb, with the quality of the writing to match. I am looking forward to reading many more books by Wendell Berry as i can find them.

I also would like to watch this excellent documentary on Mr. Berry again:
LOOK & SEE: A PORTRAIT OF WENDELL BERRY
http://lookandseefilm.com/

For an excellent example of his excellent thought and work, a more recent example is found at:
"Caught in the middle: On abortion and homosexuality"
https://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-03/caught-middle
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